According to the surveys and studies, 39% daughters in law and 38% sons are found responsible for causing miserable conditions for the parents and parents-in-law. But another survey reveals the fact that 17% daughters are also responsible to cause agony to the parents by misbehaving. 35% parents are tortured physically every day and 76% are abused, while 59% are avoided deliberately. This is the story of the land of Shravan Kumar – the great devotee of parents, where now a days the celebration of Valentine’s Day is at paramount. In foreign countries, parents are left to languish in the old age homes run by the government. The western culture, by celebration of Valentine day’ is targeting to create a tendency amongst the youth in India to dump their parents in old age homes and hospitals.

The venerable saint Shri Asharamji Bapu (hereinafter “Bapuji”) has conceived the concept of celebration of Parents’ Worship Day instead of Valentine’s Day on 14th February, keeping in view that it is a clear conspiracy to impose the western culture on Indian youth and children on the name of Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Night and now it’s been extended to even “Valentine’s Week” with the observance of ‘rose day’, ‘propose day’, ‘teddy day’, ‘chocolate day’ etc. Is this creating an environment of love or despair all over the world? Let us look into the statistics:

According to ‘Innocenti Report Card’, twelve lakh fifty thousand young girls in 28 developed countries, between the age of 13-19 years become pregnant every year. Out of which 5 lakh get aborted and 7, 50,000 becomes unmarried mothers. 4,90, 000 orphans are born in America every year and 30 lakh girls and boys fall prey to venereal diseases. Owing to the immoral relationship during Valentine’s Day, they are likely to suffer from gonorrhea, 33% genital herpes, 1% from AIDS. Amongst the new AIDS patients, 25% are below 22 years. Children who do not protect themselves from moral decadence, become mentally dull through premarital sexual indulgence, but those who observe continence will not only serve themselves but the humanity too. Developed countries have invested millions of dollars on ‘abstinence education’ but still there is no improvement in the diseases and distress caused by celebration of Valentine’s Day.

It is estimated that at least £1.6 bn is spent on gifts and treats near Valentine’s Day. Britons spent £40.2m on cards for the day last year, averaging £1.86 per person, the highest spent among special occasions, as estimated by the Greeting Cards’ Association. Tesco estimates that more than one million bouquets of flowers for Valentine’s Day are sold every year.

According to Suzanne Noble, the head of Frugl, “There are almost double the events being held over Valentine’s weekend than there would be in a normal week”.

In 2015, on Valentine’s Day, spending was supposed to be at an all-time high with a whopping $18.9 billion spent on gifts. Statistics on the amount spent on Valentine’s Day on the gifts in 2014 is as follows:-

$52.2 million – Flowers

$50 million – Jewelry

$38.3 million – Apparel

$18.6 million – specialty gifts

$7.2 million – Movies

$7.1 million – Restaurants

$1.2 million – Salons and Spas

$1.7 billion on candies

58 million pounds of chocolate is estimated to be purchased during the week of Valentine’s Day

36 million number of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate purchased for Valentine’s Day

8 billion Sweethearts are produced annually and the majority of them are sold between Jan 1 and Feb 14.

Aren’t we victimized unknowingly due to this marketing strategy of multinational companies to earn their profits by introducing such days? That’s why Bapuji, who opposed celebration of the Valentine’s Day without sabotage, who appealed the masses to celebrate Divine Valentine’s Day by worshipping the parents on this day so as to inculcate moral values amongst youth and protect them from vices and incurable fatal diseases, thus leading those towards live a simple life without pomposity; is incarcerated in a fake rape case.

Celebration of Valentine’s Day adversely impacts the students too, as they can hardly buy their books, but extravagantly spend on the gifts on this day. Had we ever tried to spend this much amount to maintain the dejected parents by caring them, we would have had lesser “old age shelters”. Whether we are preparing our destiny to live in old age homes in later phase of our lives or nurturing our coming generation with values to revere parents and elders; is something for us to ponder over and could be easily judged based upon whether we prefer the celebration of Valentine’s Day or Parent’s Worship Day.

That the children should adore their parents and be abstinent, is the purpose of Bapuji, for which the campaign to celebrate Parent’s Worship Day as Divine Valentine’s Day is run every year for the past 10 years, which got accolades from all the communities, be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Persian, Jewish or others. Celebration of Valentine’s Day has wreaked havoc in foreign countries and before the obscenity grips India, we must create an atmosphere here that is conducive to the actual well-being of the teenagers.

A number of countries have banned celebration of the Valentine’s Day and it is the need of the hour that Indian government take necessary actions by enacting laws which may ensure protection of children from this imminent ruin as well as look into the fake case of rape instituted against Bapuji, who has been constantly working in the direction of social welfare as well as youth protection selflessly; and thus demonstrate obeisance towards the innocent saint.